Nearly seven in 10 law school students in South Korea come from families earning over 146 million won ($103,000) a year, fueling concern over the growing class divide in legal education.
Data obtained by Rep. Baek Seung-ah of the Democratic Party from the Korea Student Aid Foundation and the Education Ministry showed that 69.7 percent of law school students this spring semester were estimated to come from high-income households, up 1.5 percentage points from the previous year. Of the 6,163 enrolled students, 4,299 were classified as belonging to the top-earning households.
Students in the top two income brackets, known as the ninth and 10th deciles, are considered high-income, with monthly household income exceeding 12.19 million won or roughly 146 million won a year. The classification also includes students who did not apply for state scholarships due to their ability to pay tuition without assistance.
At elite schools, such as Seoul National University, Korea University and Yonsei University, collectively known as “SKY,” the proportion of high-income students reached 76.3 percent. Private universities in Seoul followed closely, averaging 72.9 percent.
By institutions, Yeungnam University topped the list with 77.6 percent, followed by Seoul National University and Ewha Womans University (77.5 percent each) and Yonsei University at 77.4 percent.
Meanwhile, low-income students from basic livelihood and near-poverty households made up only 5.2 percent of law school enrollees, despite representing 12.6 percent of all new university entrants nationwide last year.
At SKY universities, the share of low-income law students was only 3.7 percent, while Seoul’s 10 private law schools averaged 4.6 percent.
Experts say the dominance of high-income students in law schools stems from both structural and financial barriers. "The pipeline begins at the undergraduate level, where students from affluent families already hold a strong advantage in admissions," an official working at a private admission academy said.
"Once admitted, the cost of law school itself, from preparation to graduation, further limits access for less privileged applicants," he added.
Although the government provides full tuition support for students in the bottom three income brackets, they make up only 13.9 percent of the law school population as of the 2025 spring semester, the report noted.
“The cost of preparing for the Legal Education Eligibility Test, attending private tutoring or exam academies, and paying for law school itself is enormous,” said one law school graduate, adding that "the rest must shoulder steep expenses or students from lower-income families even give up before even applying.”
Rep. Baek criticized what she called a “modern-day hereditary privilege” in law education, saying, “Excessive spending on private test prep, mock exams and admissions consulting has made entry into law school heavily dependent on family wealth.”
She urged reforms to make admissions more accessible and equitable, “so that students from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds can compete fairly and the legal profession can better reflect society as a whole.”
jychoi@heraldcorp.com
